“A few ” means “ some ” , “ a small number” or “ a handful”. The implied meaning is “ not a big number , but not too small either.”
You may say
1. I have written a few essays about World War II.
1. I have written a few essays about World War II.
2. A few guests arrived early
at the party.
“ Few ” , on
the other hand , means “ not many ” or “
almost none” . The word “ few ” emphasizes the smallness of the number.
You may say
:
1. There are only few people who are willing to help for free.
2. Unfortunately , few people are really good at listening to others.
Let’s put
this in context .
Let’s
say that it’s an
awfully cold rainy
day . A teacher does not expect her
students to come . She expects no one . But when she enters her room , she
finds eight students ( out of the total
forty ) . Then, she can say to her
colleagues after the class:
“ Wow , I
had A FEW students actually . ”
Now, let’s
change the weather. Let’s say it’s a bright , sunny day . The teacher
expects most of her students to come , but finds only
eight out of forty . Then , she can say to her
colleagues after the class:
“ Guess
what. I had FEW students today . I wonder what happened to
them.”
( and if she
says “ very few” , that gives greater
emphasis on the “ smallness.”
In terms of
the emotions conveyed , “ a few ” is somewhat neutral or leaning toward the
positive side. On the other hand , “
few ” expresses a tone of sadness or regret.
So , if you
have three friends and you say :
“ I have a
few friends. ”
then , it
means that you’re okay and happy with
that .
But if you
say :
“ I have few
friends. ”
the
connotation is that you are not happy with the number of friends you have ( i.e. , three ) and that
you wish you had more
friends around you.
So , the next time you have to choose between
“ a few ” and “ few ”, you have to first analyze
the situation , expectation and
emotion .
p.s.
I think
three good friends are enough.
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